Haplogroup T is a human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup. It is believed to have originated around 25,100 years ago in the Near East."Mitochondrial DNA Signals of Late Glacial Recolonization of Europe from Near Eastern Refugia", Maria Pala, Anna Olivieri, Alessandro Achilli, Matteo Accetturo, Ene Metspalu, Maere Reidla, Erika Tamm, Monika Karmin, Tuuli Reisberg, Baharak Hooshiar Kashani, Ugo A Perego, Valeria Carossa, Francesca Gandini, Joana B Pereira, Pedro Soares, Norman Angerhofer, Sergei Rychkov, Nadia Al-Zahery, Valerio Carelli, Mohammad Hossein Sanati, Massoud Houshmand, Jiři Hatina, Vincent Macaulay, Luísa Pereira, Scott R Woodward, William Davies, Clive Gamble, Douglas Baird, Ornella Semino, Richard Villems, Antonio Torroni, Martin B Richards. National Center for Biotechnology Information. May 4, 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2026
Origins Mitochondrial clade T derives from the haplogroup JT, which also gave rise to the mtDNA haplogroup J. The T maternal clade is thought to have emanated from the Near East.
Distribution
The basal haplogroup T* is found among Algerians in Oran (1.67%) and Reguibate Sahrawi (0.93%).; S5 Table It is also distributed among the Soqotri (1.2%).
Haplogroup T is present at low frequencies throughout Western and Central Asia and Europe, with varying degrees of prevalence and certainly might have been present in other groups from the surrounding areas. Maternal T is found in approximately 10% of native Europeans. It is also common among modern day Iranians. Based on a sample of over 400 modern day Iranians,"Investigation of Ancient DNA from Western Siberia and the Sargat Culture", Casey C. Bennet, Frederika A. Kaestle. Wayne State University Press. 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2026 the T haplogroup represents roughly 8.3% of the population (about 1 out of 12 individuals), with the more specific T1 subtype constituting roughly half of those. Furthermore, the specific subtype T1 tends to be found further east and is common in Central Asian and modern Turkic populations , who inhabit much of the same territory as the ancient Saka, Sarmatian, Andronovo, and other putative Iranian peoples of the 2nd and 1st millennia BC. Lalueza-Fox et al. (2004) also found several T and T1 sequences in ancient burials, including Kurgans, in the Kazakh steppe between the 14th-10th centuries BC, as well as later into the 1st millennia BC. These coincide with the latter part of the Andronovo period and the Saka period in the region.
The geographic distribution within subclade T2 varies greatly with the ratio of subhaplogroup T2e to T2b reported to vary 40-fold across examined populations from a low in Britain and Ireland, to a high in Saudi Arabia . Within subhaplogroup T2e, a very rare motif is identified among Sephardic Jews of Turkey and Bulgaria and suspected conversos from the New World .
Found in Svan population from Caucasus (Georgia) T* 10,4% and T1 4,2%. T1a1a1 is particularly common in countries with high levels of Y-haplogroup R1a, such as Central and Northeast Europe. The clade is also found everywhere in Central Asia and deep into North Asia, as far east as Mongolia.
T2c and T2d appear to have a Near Eastern origin around the time of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and more recent dispersals into Europe. Most of T2c comprises haplogroup T2c1. Apart from a peak in Cyprus, T2c1 is most common in the Persian Gulf region but is also found in the Levant and in Mediterranean Europe, with a more far-flung distribution at very low levels.http://haplogroup.org/sources/mitochondrial-dna-signals-of-late-glacial-recolonization-of-europe-from-near-eastern-refugia/
T2 is also found among the Soqotri (7.7%).
Archaeology Wilde et al. (2014) tested mtDNA samples from the Yamnaya culture, the presumed homeland of Proto-Indo-European speakers. They found T2a1b in the Middle Volga region in Russia and Bulgaria, and T1a both in central Ukraine and the Middle Volga, Russia. The frequency of T1a and T2 in Yamnaya samples were each 14.5%.
Haplogroup T has also been found among Iberomaurusian specimens dating from the Epipaleolithic at the Afalou prehistoric site in Algeria. One ancient individual carried the T2b subclade (1/9; 11%). Additionally, haplogroup T has been observed among ancient Egyptian mummies excavated at the Abusir el-Meleq archaeological site in Middle Egypt, which date from the Pre-Ptolemaic/late New Kingdom (T1, T2), Ptolemaic (T1, T2), and Roman (undifferentiated T, T1) periods. Fossils excavated at the Late Neolithic site of Kelif el Boroud in Morocco, which have been dated to around 3,000 BCE, have also been observed to carry the T2 subclade. Additionally, haplogroup T has been observed in ancient Guanche fossils excavated in Gran Canaria and Tenerife on the Canary Islands, which have been radiocarbon-dated to between the 7th and 11th centuries CE. The clade-bearing individuals were inhumed at the Tenerife site, with one specimen found to belong to the T2c1d2 subclade (1/7; 14%).
Africa In Africa, haplogroup T is primarily found among Afro-Asiatic-speaking populations, including the basal T* clade. Some non-basal T clades are also commonly found among the Niger-Congo-speaking Serer due to diffusion from the Maghreb, likely with the spread of Islam.
PopulationLocationLanguage FamilyNFrequencySourceAmharaEthiopiaAfro-Asiatic > Semitic5/1204.17%BejaSudanAfro-Asiatic > Cushitic1/482.1%Beta IsraelEthiopiaAfro-Asiatic > Cushitic0/290.00%CoptEgyptAfro-Asiatic > Egyptian5/2917.2%Dawro K.EthiopiaAfro-Asiatic > Omotic2/1371.46% and Egyptians (El-Hayez)EgyptAfro-Asiatic > Semitic10/3528.6%EthiopiaEthiopiaUndetermined2/772.60%Ethiopian JewEthiopiaAfro-Asiatic > Cushitic0/410.00%GurageEthiopiaAfro-Asiatic > Semitic0/210.00%HamerEthiopiaAfro-Asiatic > Omotic 0/110.00% and OngotaEthiopiaAfro-Asiatic > Cushitic0/190.00% and OromoEthiopiaAfro-Asiatic > Cushitic0/330.00%TigraiEthiopiaAfro-Asiatic > Semitic3/446.82%DaasanachKenyaAfro-Asiatic > Cushitic0/490.00%ElmoloKenyaAfro-Asiatic > Cushitic0/520.00% and LuoKenyaNilo-Saharan0/490.00% and MaasaiKenyaNilo-Saharan0/810.00% and NairobiKenyaNiger-Congo0/1000.00%NyangatomKenyaNilo-Saharan0/1120.00%RendilleKenyaAfro-Asiatic > Cushitic0/170.00% and SamburuKenyaNilo-Saharan0/350.00% and TurkanaKenyaNilo-Saharan0/510.00% and HutuRwandaNiger-Congo0/420.00%DinkaSudanNilo-Saharan0/460.00%SudanSudanUndetermined3/1022.94%BurungeTanzaniaAfro-Asiatic > Cushitic0/380.00%DatogaTanzaniaNilo-Saharan1/571.75% and IraqwTanzaniaAfro-Asiatic > Cushitic0/120.00%SukumaTanzaniaNiger-Congo0/320.00% and TuruTanzaniaNiger-Congo0/290.00%
Europe and Asia
The downstream phylogeny of the T2 branch, particularly its most prolific subclade T2b, presents significant classification challenges due to a star-like radiation of sub-lineages. Because many downstream mutations occurred in close chronological proximity during rapid prehistoric population expansions, standard hypervariable region (HVR) sequencing often fails to resolve the exact ancestral origins of specific sub-clades. This creates an overlapping migratory signal between Early European Farmers arriving from Anatolia during the Neolithic transition and pastoralists migrating from the Pontic-Caspian steppe during the Bronze Age. Consequently, modern population genetics increasingly relies on Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) and Full Mitochondrial Sequencing (FMS) of both ancient and contemporary genomes to distinguish the deep evolutionary trajectories of these specific T2 subclades.
Haplogroups T1 and T2 are associated with the Neolithic spread in Europe and Asia. High frequencies of mtDNA haplogroup T are observed among the Udmurts, Russia (16,5%), the Chechens, Russia (12.5%), the Ingush, Russia (12.5%), the Netherlands (12%), and the Kumyks, Russia (10%), Sardinia, and Iceland (all at 10%). Notably high levels are also found in Switzerland (9.5%), Azerbaijan (9.5%), Georgia (9%), Hungary (8.5%), and Ukraine (8.5%). These are followed by Romania at 6%, while the northern Fertile Crescent (Lebanon, Iraq, and eastern Turkey) sits at around 5.5%, and the regions of the South Caucasus (Armenia) range from 4.5% to 5.5%. The southern Balkans (Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Albania) each register at 4.5%, Austria and the Czech Republic at 3.5%.
Subclades
Tree This phylogenetic tree of haplogroup I subclades is based on the paper and subsequent published research .
T T1 T1a T1a-T152C! T1a1'3 T1a1 T1a1a T1a1a1 T1a1b T1a1b1 T1a1c T1a1d T1a1e T1a1f T1a1g T1a1h T1a1i T1a1j T1a1k T1a1k1 T1a1k2 T1a1-C152T!! T1a1l T1a1m T1a1m1 T1a1n T1a1p T1a1q T1a1r T1a3 T1a3a T1a2 T1a2a T1a2b T1a4 T1a11 T1a12 T1a13 T1a5 T1a5a T1a6 T1a7 T1a8 T1a8a T1a8b T1a9 T1a10 T1a10a T1b T1b1 T1b2 T1b3 T1b4 T2 T2a T2a1 T2a1a T2a1a1 T2a1a2 T2a1a3 T2a1a3a T2a1a5 T2a1a6 T2a1a7 T2a1a8 T2a1b T2a1b1 T2a1b1a T2a1b1a1 T2a1b1a1a T2a1b1a1a1 T2a1b1a1a2 T2a1b1a1b T2a1b1a1b1 T2a1b1a2 T2a1b2 T2a1b2a T2a1b2b T2a-T195C! T2a2 T2a2a T2a3 T2b T2b1 T2b2 T2b2b T2b2b1 T2b3 T2b3-C151T T2b3a T2b3a1 T2b3c T2b3d T2b3e T2b3b T2b4 T2b4a T2b4a1 T2b4i T2b4-T152C! T2b4b T2b4c T2b4d T2b4e T2b4f T2b4g T2b4h T2b5 T2b5a T2b5a1 T2b6 T2b6a T2b6-T146C! T2b6b T2b7 T2b7a T2b7a1 T2b7a2 T2b7a3 T2b8 T2b-C150T T2b9 T2b11 T2b13 T2b13a T2b13b T2b15 T2b-T16362C T2b16 T2b17 T2b17a T2b19 T2b19b T2b-T152C! T2b21 T2b21a T2b21b T2b22 T2b23 T2b23a T2b24 T2b24a T2b25 T2b26 T2b27 T2b28 T2b29 T2b30 T2b31 T2b32 T2b33 T2b34 T2b35 T2b36 T2b37 T2c T2c1 T2c1a T2c1a1 T2c1a2 T2c1a3 T2c1c T2c1c1 T2c1c2 T2c1-T146C! T2c1d T2c1d1 T2c1d1a T2c1d-T152C! T2c1d2 T2c1d2a T2c1e T2c1f T2d T2d1 T2d1a T2d1b T2d1b1 T2d1b2 T2d2 T2-C150T T2e T2e1 T2e1a T2e1a1 T2e1a1a T2e1a1b T2e1a1b1 T2e1b T2e1b1 T2e2 T2e2a T2e5 T2e6 T2e-T152C! T2e7 T2m T2-T16189C! T2f T2f1 T2f1a T2f1a1 T2f2 T2f3 T2f4 T2f5 T2f6 T2f7 T2f7a T2f8 T2f8a T2g T2g1 T2g1a T2g1a1 T2g1b T2g2 T2g2a T2h T2h1 T2h2 T2i T2i1 T2i2 T2j T2j1 T2k T2l T2n T3
Health issues One study has shown Haplogroup T to be associated with increased risk for coronary artery disease"Mitochondrial DNA haplogroup T is associated with coronary artery disease and diabetic retinopathy: a case control study", Barbara Kofler, Edith E Mueller, Waltraud Eder, Olaf Stanger, Richard Maier, Martin Weger, Anton Haas, Robert Winker, Otto Schmut, Bernhard Paulweber, Bernhard Iglseder, Wilfried Renner, Martina Wiesbauer, Irene Aigner, Danijela Santic, Franz A Zimmermann, Johannes A Mayr, Wolfgang Sperl. National Center for Biotechnology Information. April 21, 2009. Retrieved 27 June 2026 and dementia."Mitochondrial DNA haplogroups in early-onset Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration", Yiwei Wang, Roberta D Brinton. National Center for Biotechnology Information. October 4, 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2026"Mitochondrial DNA sequence associations with dementia and amyloid-β in elderly African Americans", Gregory J Tranah, Jennifer S Yokoyama, Shana M Katzman, Michael A Nalls, Anne B Newman, Tamara B Harris, Matteo Cesari, Todd M Manini, Nicholas J Schork, Steven R Cummings, Yongmei Liu, Kristine Yaffe. National Center for Biotechnology Information. October 18, 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2026
A few tentative medical studies have demonstrated that Haplogroup T may offer some resistance to both Parkinson's disease"Mitochondrial DNA polymorphisms and haplogroups in Parkinson’s disease and control individuals with a similar genetic background", Helen Latsoudis, Cleanthe Spanaki, Grigoris Chlouverakis, Andreas Plaitakis. Journal of Human Genetics. April 1, 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2026 and Alzheimer's disease."Alzheimer’s disease: the hypotheses, known and unknown connections between UV-radiation, mtDNA haplotypes and life span – a review", Milena Draganova-Filipova, Vanina Bojilova, Plamen Zagorchev. Science Direct. December 21, 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2026